That is sick...

I am in schools and classrooms throughout the state almost on a daily basis. I've seen some really great teachers and some not so great teachers. I even taught high school for a few years prior to my current job, so I know a little bit of what to look for in an effective classroom. I've walked into classrooms where right when you walk in, you know there is a lot of learning going on; these are the classrooms I want my own child in. And then I've walked into other classrooms where the teacher was sleeping. Literally, he had a room full of students and he was SLEEPING. I had to tap him on the shoulder to wake him up. This is a classroom I do not want my child in. Today at a school I was reading some posters on the wall that the students had made. It baffled my mind. The posters were split in half and on one side was the word "tuff" and on the other side was the word "tough." And under each word were pictures that I am guessing were supposed to depict the word. What baffled my mind was that each poster had similar pictures under both pictures. One student had pictures of trucks under "tuff" and then another student had pictures of trucks under "tough." So which is right? There were pictures of athletic looking girls under the word "tuff" and also pictures of athletes under the word "tough." I was confused. What was the point of this assignment. I even had to go to the dictionary to look up the word "tuff" to see if I was missing something. Do you know what the first definition is? It's slang for tough. The next definition is "a fragmental rock consisting of the smaller kinds of volcanic detritus..." Some kids did have pictures of diamonds under "tuff" so is this what the assignment was really about? If so, over half the class did the assignment wrong yet they are posted proudly in the hallway like works of art. If going to school means my child will learn slang, I'm pretty sure I can teach that to him on my own. Afterall, I did teach alternative school in West Phoenix. I know when ice is chill to wear or when it goes in your drink. Sometimes the classrooms I am in make me sick (like the real kind of sick, not the slang for sick that really means cool).